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What Is a HUD Fair Market Rent? A Plain-English Guide
Every rent number on this site is a HUD Fair Market Rent. Here is what that means and how to use it.
The short version
A Fair Market Rent (FMR) is HUD's estimate of the 40th percentile of rents paid by recent movers for standard-quality units in an area. It is a gross rent, so it includes typical utilities. HUD publishes FMRs every year for each metro area and each rural county, for studios up to 4-bedroom units. The FY2027 figures used here took effect October 1, 2026.
How HUD builds them
HUD starts from Census American Community Survey rents, adjusts them to reflect people who moved recently, and then brings them forward with inflation factors for rent and utilities. In some areas local survey data is also used. The full method is in HUD's FY2027 methodology paper.
How to use them
- If a listing is well below the FMR, ask what is missing (utilities, condition, fees).
- If it is well above, it may be newer, larger or in a pricier neighborhood. Within a metro, rents vary a lot by ZIP code.
- Housing vouchers are usually capped between 90% and 110% of the FMR, so it is also the rent a voucher holder can expect to find.
Florida in FY2027
The highest typical 2-bedroom in Florida is in Miami-Dade County at $2,564. The middle Florida county is at $1,474. See them all on Florida rent by county.
- HUD: Fair Market Rents, FY2027 county-level data
- HUD: Calculation of HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027 (PDF)
Common questions
Are Fair Market Rents the same as average rent?
No. They are set at the 40th percentile, so they are a bit below the middle of the market for recent movers.